Reina Mercedes, Isabela

Reina Mercedes, officially the Municipality of Reina Mercedes (Ili ti Reina Mercedes; Bayan ng Reina Mercedes), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 27,900 people.

Reina Mercedes is 21 km from Ilagan and 377 km from Manila.

Etymology
The town derived its name in honor of Queen Mercedes of Orléans.

History
Reina Mercedes was founded in 1743 as the settlement of Abbag, which means "on the other side" (of the Magat River), before then being renamed to Calering, and Calanusian (from canusi, a species of white ebony). The town was finally renamed in honor of Queen Mercedes of Orléans, the first consort of Alfonso XII, who died of tuberculosis on June 26, 1878, in the fourth year of Alfonso's reign. When the town was partitioned from Cauayan on January 20, 1886, the priest Pedro Jiménez named it after the late queen. Prior to this,

Barangays
Reina Mercedes is politically subdivided into 20 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.


 * Banquero
 * Binarsang
 * Cutog Grande
 * Cutog Pequeño
 * Dangan
 * District I (Poblacion)
 * District II
 * Labinab Grande
 * Labinab Pequeño
 * Mallalatang Grande
 * Mallalatang Tunggui
 * Nappacu Grande (Poblacion)
 * Nappacu Pequeño (Poblacion)
 * Salucong
 * Santiago
 * Santor
 * Sinippil (Poblacion)
 * Tallungan (Poblacion)
 * Turod
 * Villador

Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, was 27,900 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Local government
As a municipality in the Province of Isabela, government officials in the provincial level are voted by the electorates of the town. The provincial government have political jurisdiction over local transactions of the municipal government.

The municipality of Reina Mercedes is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Barangays are also headed by elected officials: Barangay Captain, Barangay Council, whose members are called Barangay Councilors. The barangays have SK federation which represents the barangay, headed by SK chairperson and whose members are called SK councilors. All officials are also elected every three years.

Congress representation
Reina Mercedes, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Isabela, currently represented by Hon. Ed Christopher S. Go.

Education
The Schools Division of Isabela governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region. The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality.

Elementary schools

 * Reina Mercedes Central School (District 2)
 * Tallungan Elementary School
 * Bliss Elementary School
 * Mallalatang Elementary School
 * Nappacu Grande-Sinippil Elementary School
 * Nappacu Pequeño Elementary School
 * Binarsang Elementary School
 * Salucong Elementary School
 * Santiago Elementary School
 * Dangan elementary school
 * Cutog grande elementary school
 * Cutog pequeño elementary school
 * Santor elementary school

High schools

 * Reina Mercedes Vocational and Industrial School (Pan-Philippine Highway)
 * Reina Mercedes National Highschool (Cutog Pequeno)
 * Turod Integrated School
 * Banquero Integrated School